“We all take ownership – if we know we can make something better, then we do it.”

In keeping with Co-op’s commitment to Fairtrade, our academies embarked upon their own Fairtrade journeys this year for Fairtrade Fortnight. For some, it was raising awareness of Fairtrade. For others a bit further along with their learning, it became a paradigm of a culture shift.

Students across our academies took part in various activities to enhance their own knowledge of Fairtrade. This included designing artwork, taking part in quizzes, and delivering assemblies to the rest of their academies.

A hugely popular activity with students, staff and families alike was the various Fairtrade Bake Off challenges. Whether completed at home or in academies, there was a strong appetite for showing all the lovely Fairtrade cakes, cookies, loaves and muffins created. Not only did this highlight the importance of Fairtrade ingredients, but it was fantastic to see our families having so much fun together!

Academies such as Co-op Academy Stoke-on-Trent and Co-op Academy Woodslee, have Fairtrade Ambassadors. These are students who have extensive knowledge of all things Fairtrade, and help their academies and local community learn more about why Fairtrade is important. This includes giving up their own time to talk to customers in local Co-op stores about Fairtrade and delivering workshops to primary schools.

Working via Fairtrade Foundation, many of our academies achieved fantastic success in gaining Fairtrade accreditations. There are three available (FairAware; FairActive and FairAchiever) and, led by each academy’s CoCo (Co-op Coordinator), it was great to celebrate the various levels of achievement. For those who achieved the first level, it’s a brilliant start to their Fairtrade journey. For those who have achieved the highest level, it shows a wonderful commitment to Fairtrade that has become a permanent feature.

All of the great work produced by our pupils, students, staff and families, not just across Fairtrade Fortnight, but throughout each year, shows a great commitment to Fairtrade and helps raise awareness in our local communities. It’s what we do.